Best video games of all time: Number 8

So over in my OWN journal, I'm counting down the top 10 Greatest Video Games of All Time..... Guess what made the list at #8???????



(fourth of 11 in an occasional series)



NUMBER 8: "RBI BASEBALL" (Atari and Nintendo, 1987)





After years of disappointing pixelated sports games on the Atari 2600, Atari and Tengen teamed up to finally get it right with "RBI Baseball" in 1987. This very simplistic but incredibly entertaining game was one of the first on any video game system to use real players by name, with various skill levels based on real statistics. It had many of the elements of real baseball, including errors, substitutions, strategy, and bunts, but its beauty is in the ease of gameplay. Anybody can play this true classic!

UPSIDES (3.5 points out of 5): This game had ten teams, namely the eight different playoff teams of 1986 and 1987, plus two All-Star teams made of of players from the rest of the major leagues. Different teams had different advantages (just like in real life)... HOU had the pitching (Nolan Ryan and Mike Scott), STL had the base stealers (Ozzie Smith and Vince Coleman), and the AL All-Star team could just plain MASH. This game preserves forever the classic 1987 Twins, the 1987 Cardinals, and the famous 1986 World Series Mets vs. Red Sox matchup. (Yes, Bill Buckner is there!) Some of the names bring back hilarious memories if you knew the game at the time (it immortalized Al Pedrique as a Pirates shortstop), but even somebody unfamiliar with the players would enjoy the game. Home runs set off fireworks. :)

DOWNSIDES (minus 0.5 points): Every player in the game looks like John Kruk - white and fat!

REPLAYABILITY (4 out of 5): This game is still fun even after 90 percent of the players have retired or died! Cheesy music, bad graphics, predictable gameplay, but the simple beauty of this nostalgic wonder will always appeal. Besides, that Roger Clemens vs. Reggie Jackson matchup just never gets old.

PLOT (0 out of 5): None. It's a sports game without any championship. No World Series. No trophy. No unlockable features. No matter! The only tragedy of the game is that the arcade version was never released for home systems.... that version featured all-time teams for the Yankees, Red Sox, and other storied franchises! Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Catfish Hunter! Today's Playstation games are just NOW deciding to include some of these legends! Even though it was a pioneer of sports video games, "RBI Baseball" was actually ahead of its time!

CHALLENGE (1 out of 5): Very little. The game does not take long to master. Once you figure out how to catch a fly ball (stand where it lands) and how to throw to the different bases, there's not much else to figure out. If you want a challenge, try facing the American League All-Stars (McGwire, Canseco, Molitor, Ripken, etc.) with a fourth-string pitcher. Otherwise, just try to throw a no-hitter or beat the game in less than three innings (any team with a ten-run lead automatically won the game at the end of the inning).

LEGACY (5 out of 5): At least four direct sequels (the most recent being a difficult 1994 version released on Super Nintendo) and countless imitators! This game was the first truly outstanding sports game of any kind, paving the way for such storied franchises as John Madden Football and entire companies such as EA Sports. The early sequels had all of the features that made the original so great, but the players were slimmed down and diversified. (Instead of fat and white, they were ALL thin and either black OR white in "RBI Baseball 2" and "RBI Baseball 3.") Every subsequent game also included all major league teams and even some classic playoff teams (in case somebody like me wanted to avenge the 1984 World Series). "RBI Baseball" on Atari and Nintendo changed the video-game industry forever.

Total points: 13 out of 25

Our list so far.................

Honorable Mention: Frogger (Atari)
10: Vigilante 8, Playstation and other systems
9: StarFox, Super Nintendo
8: RBI Baseball, Nintendo
7: ?
6: ?
5: ?
4: ?
3: ?
2: ?
1: ?

COMING SOON: the 7th-best video game of all time.